Global Justice Clinic - for JDs

Course Description

The Global Justice Clinic seminar is a collaborative effort to learn about, reflect on, critique, and apply domestic and international human rights and social justice strategies to respond to global injustice. The seminar teaches core skills involved in human rights work, including working with international and regional human rights bodies; power mapping and other tools to identify advocacy targets and determine strategy; social science research methods including interviewing and participatory action research; report writing; and litigation. Students also address questions of ethical, political, and professional responsibility.

Qualifications for Applicants

Fluency in a language in addition to English is useful, but not required; please note the languages you speak and write along with other qualifications in your application. While a course in International Law and International Human Rights Law is helpful, neither is required to apply.

Credit Structure and Time Commitment Expected

This clinic is time-intensive. Students will be expected to devote approximately sixteen hours per week to their clinic project work in addition to the time allotted to reading, written, and simulation assignments for the seminar. At times, projects will require student work during winter and spring breaks. We recommend that students speak to prior clinic students to get a sense of the workload and requirements.

Application Procedure

Students should submit the standard application, a resume, and a grade transcript via CAMS and follow the clinical program’s timeline for JD applications. Selected student applicants will be contacted for an interview.

The Global Justice Clinic and United Nations Diplomacy Clinic occasionally work on similar legal issues but for and with different types of clients. As such, there is a potential for conflicts of interest that may not allow students to participate in both clinics. Students that are interested in participating in both clinics (as a 2L and then as a 3L, respectively) should be in touch with the clinic professors to ensure that there is no conflict in the relevant year.

* 3 clinical credits and 3 academic seminar credits are awarded each semester. The total for the year is 12 credits.